How far along: 33 weeks & 1 day
Baby updates: Although it’s hard to be exact at this stage, we think Baby Harper is somewhere around 4.5-5 lbs these days.
Mamma updates: Last week was kind of a stressful, emotional roller-coaster for me (full post on that later this week) but I’m currently feeling better than ever.
Things I miss: Nothing really.
Cravings: Ice cream & cookies.
Weight: +19
Best moments of the week: There was a very clear winner for this week’s best moment — getting to welcome sweet Mailey Jane Hudson into the world and celebrate our dear friends Trent and Paige becoming parents! Still praising God for a healthy baby, healthy mom and a great delivery! I don’t want to tell their story before they have the chance to, but I will say that in a verrrrry Hudson-like way, Trent and Paige had us over on Saturday, convinced us to stay for dinner and then literally dropped us off at our apartment on their way to the hospital that night where Paige proceded to give birth without ANY pain meds! Ridiculous!! Anyway, Mailey is just beautiful and perfect, and Michael and I truly could not be happier for the new family of 3. Now we can’t wait for Baby Harper to come so that we can all play together. 🙂
Category Archives: Baby
32 Weeks
How far along: 32 weeks & 2 days — less than 8 weeks to go!
Baby updates: According to our ultrasound on Friday, Baby Harper is over 4.5 lbs already! Yikes!
Mamma updates: Right now I’m trying to get over a cold but otherwise I’m feeling OK. I’ve definitely moved into the more uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, so something is always feeling a little off, but nothing major. At this point I am thankful that we have about 8 weeks left. I am glad that we still have some time to do a little more preparing, but I’m also happy we’re getting close!
Things I miss: Nothing really this week.
Cravings: Fruity teas.
Weight: +18-19 still, but I should be gaining about a pound/week from here on out, and supposedly around half of that goes straight to the babe. I’m not sure I’ll get to my goal of 35 lbs but hopefully I’ll gain around 30. Trying to eat a lot!
Best moments of the week: This was a short week for us (Corpus Cristi holiday on Thursday) so we were able to do a lot of relaxing, spend good time with friends, and make some major progress on the nursery! There is still some more work to do, but I’ll share it as soon as we’re ready.
Another highlight was our ultrasound on Friday where we got to see our little guy and hear that he’s continuing to grow big and strong. We are so thankful to God for the blessing of a healthy baby and healthy pregnancy. Then, on Saturday we did our hospital tour and got to see where we will be bringing Baby Harper into the world (Albert Einstein)!
We’re also on high-alert baby-watch for our dear friends, Trent and Paige (due today!!), so we’ve been enjoying some final moments with them before their baby girl comes by doing post-church pregnancy photo-shoots. 🙂
Finally, we were thrilled to find out that Michael’s oldest sister, Christy, and her husband, TJ, are going to be having a sweet baby BOY (due Oct. 28). It will be so much fun having boy cousins so close in age! 
31 Weeks
How far along: 31 weeks & 1 day
Baby updates: Baby Harper is weighing somewhere around 4 lbs!
Mamma updates: I’ve been feeling good lately — fully recovered from the food poisoning. My only symptoms lately are heart burn at night, some normal aches and discomfort, and ankles are swelling a little…
Things I miss: Sushi. I’ve gone out for sushi with friends 3 times in the past 2 weeks!
Cravings: Sweets
Weight: +19
Best moments of the week: So many great moments from Mike & Moira’s visit, but I think the conclusion of their trip at Camburi beach may have been the highlight. I will do a separate post (or 3!) up next!
30 Weeks
How far along: 30 weeks & 2 days which means we’re in single digits — only 9 weeks and 5 days to go!
Baby updates: Baby Harper is supposed to be weighing about 3 lbs, but we had an ultrasound today and learned that he’s closer to 4 lbs! Big boy! Right now he’s focusing his efforts on putting on the pounds and should double in weight before he’s born. (Yikes!)
Mamma updates: Not pregnancy related but on Saturday I got food-poisoning from my favorite restaurant in Rio and proceeded to undergo what was, physically, the most miserable couple days of my life. Without going into too much detail, I think I threw up at least 12 times in the first 24 hours. I was so worried about the baby but tried my best to stay hydrated for him, and am so thankful to Michael for taking such good care of me. I’m slowly starting to feel better, but am still super low on energy. My doctor had me do an ultrasound today to check on our little guy and be sure he is OK and we were so grateful to see that he’s looking good and is perfectly healthy.
Things I miss: Feeling good and having energy. Also being able to get comfortable enough to sleep at night — something which has been very difficult for me lately.
Cravings: Peach tea.
Weight: +16. Down a bit thanks to food poisoning. 😦
Best moments of the week: Our very dear friends, Mike & Moira from San Francisco, came to visit!! Michael and I met them in Rio on Friday and now we’re gearing up for São Paulo fun followed by more beach time this weekend! So thankful for their friendship and their visit!! Trying to recover quickly so I can participate in all the fun! Full post on their visit coming…
29 Weeks
How far along: 29 weeks & 1 day
Baby updates: Baby Harper is weighing about 2.7 lbs and is around 16 inches long. These days he’s beefing up and developing his brain and bones! He’s staying active and I really cherish getting to feel him move all day (& night)! It’s a funny, sweet feeling to know that you’re never alone — I always have a little pal with me.
Mamma updates: I’m feeling good — some back aches and random stomach cramps, but usually nothing that lasts more than an hour or two. I’m needing a lot of rest, but thankfully I’ve been sleeping really well at night.
I’m also starting to try to get a little more educated about the whole labor & delivery process — trying to determine when less-knowledge-is-more versus the things that I really should know in advance… Yikes.
Things I miss: Caipirinhas!
Cravings: Milkshakes and chocolate chip cookies.
Weight: +17 still. I definitely need to be wearing maternity bottoms and am in maternity tops about 85% of the time, but I can still wear most of my old dresses.
Best moments of the week: There were lots of great moments this past week, but probably the most special was getting to celebrate Mother’s Day for the first time! I know that our little guy still has a few weeks left to bake, but I am his mama nonetheless! We celebrated by gathering with friends after church at our sweet friend, Deborah’s, for some tasty feijoada and great company.
5 moms and 2 moms-t0-be at lunch!
So thankful for all of the amazing moms in my life — especially my awesome mom Susan, my sweet mother in law, Sharon and my fabulous grandmother, Nan! XO!
28 Weeks
How far along: 28 weeks & 2 days
Baby updates: Baby Harper is weighing about 2.5 lbs and is around 16 inches long! He’s very active and I have come to love feeling him wiggle around through the day — especially because it is such a good sign of his health & well-being!
Mamma updates: I’m generally feeling pretty well, although this was kind of a tough week with more aches & pains. My normal 20 minute walk home from work is taking me more like 30 minutes and I am getting more cramps when I do too much, so I’m trying to take it easy. I’m also having a harder time getting comfortable and sleeping. Thankfully my doctor said everything looks good and normal, so nothing to worry about, and I would definitely take these third trimester discomforts over those of the first trimester any day.
Things I miss: Caipirinhas and feeling normal!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Weight: +17
Best moments of the week: Lots of fun over the past week! Celebrating birthdays (Jeff Jones & Joe Harper in São Paulo, Mama and Bradley Zais from a distance), spending time with friends, helping Joe move to a new apartment one block down the street from us, AND our dear friends, the Hudsons, were so kind to let us send some of our big baby-items in their crate-shipment which arrived this week, so it has been really fun to do some rearranging and get a little more ready for baby Harper to arrive. We’re so excited to meet you, little guy!
27 Weeks
How far along: 27 weeks & 1 day — This means I am officially in the THIRD TRIMESTER and this past Sunday marked the 3 month countdown to our due-date!
Baby updates: Baby Harper is weighing a little over 2 lbs and is 14-15 inches long! We had a great ultrasound on Friday and learned that he is growing big and strong — in the 81% for weight! He is opening and closing his little eyes, has basic-functioning lungs and moves around constantly.
Mamma updates: I’m generally feeling great, although new little aches, pains & other uncomfortableness creeps in each day. Sleep is usually pretty good but I am having more nights where I just can’t seem to get comfortable.
Things I miss: Nothing this week.
Cravings: Confession – I brought back 2 boxes of Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies from the US and they are already gone…
Weight: +16 still.
Best moments of the week: It has been so nice to be home again. São Paulo really is home now, and being away for over 5 weeks was tough. We have had a blast getting together with our friends over the past week.
Paige, Suzanna, me, Jana & Paula at La Maison Est Tombee. Also a creepy guy in the background.
Also, like I mentioned, we are thankful to have had another great ultrasound where we got to see our little guy and confirm that he’s growing big, strong & healthy! Praise be to God!
Jeans & A T-Shirt 